Picnic in the Gardens [Khyan]

[Hilana Chenzira]

54 Ash, Year 122

[Closed - Khyan]

It had been a whirlwind season thus far for the Vastiana. As wild as she was, as wild as she could be, Hilana still enjoyed staying around what was her present home, if only because it gave her time to try to find Khyan down in the Umbrium. When she went down for work, she was looking constantly for him, taking the long ways to and from her errands, trying to figure out where he might be. She had gone into the Noctis Aeternae a few times to watch Finn’s performances, and at the same time, case the place for him. And she had to admit that her friend was surely busy, which was entirely possible, had gotten into trouble with the Consul's many eyes, or was just that adept at hiding. Not just from her, but from anyone he didn't want to be found by. To be fair, it wasn’t like there were tracks down here she could follow like she might have outside the city, and inside of it she had no chance at seeking a Master Sembler who might not wish to be found.

But it didn’t stop her from trying.

She was back at it again today, and this time, she had packed a meal. Cakes had been made and baked what with her birthday coming up, although the reason as to why she had been delivering baked goods to her friends was never shared beyond the fact that she had made plenty, and thought of them. Which was true. And in her bag, she had one sliced and wrapped for Khyan, to go along with fair spread of other things. Now the trick was just finding him. It really shouldn't have been this difficult, finding a stunning young man with a collar around his throat that could have paid for a fairly extravagant villa. Still, she was armed with her python on her shoulders, though his head was resting on her bun as if to get an extra lookout, and Hilana was now approaching the outskirts of the Sanctine District, having made her way through the Under-Forum, looking by and large like someone just out doing her shopping.

She still stood out, though, with the colourful skirts that she insisted on wearing, and today's was no exception. The colours of the sunrise over the desert were painted on the tiers, the ombre hues rising over the folds of cotton that hung off of her hips and covered her sandals. A rich, dark purple gradually gave way to shades of yellow, red, and orange before fading into blue. She had stopped briefly by the Templum Mediae Noctis Matris, though she had not gone in. Hilana just offered a respectful bow to Midnight’s Mother. That there was a pilgrimage coming was something she had in mind, and finding the right sort of thing to bring with her for it was also taking some thinking. She was confident in her ability to find something, but the prospect of hauling some sort of quadruped through the Aurisian Embassy would have been scandalous. No, it was going to have to be something she could carry with her, and that precluded a fair few that she might have sacrificed here on her home turf. Still, the nomadic girl with the long legs was making good time, her dark eyes roaming the streets as she went.

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan had passing few duties as a slave to his old school chum. He hadn’t actively tried to guilt trip Cetus into leaving him idle and actually he bore a certain amount of guilt himself toward both his master and the other household slaves who were actually expected to work. And so it was that he’d volunteered to do regular shopping for the household. This did not, of course, assuage the envy of the other servi as it was a rather cushy task and many slaves enjoyed the excursion. But alas, Khyan had been born to privilege and his own sense of entitlement blinded him to their umbrage, despite of his mastery at Semblance.

So it was, that he found himself in the Underforum, as he often did during an afternoon. At least insofar as one could discern the time of day in their sunless, starless, moonless corner of the great city. It all seemed rather arbitrary, but he felt compelled to at least remain aware of the rough time of day, lest he further vex his household colleagues by sleeping too late.

His household purchase today was what it so often ended up being: Wine. He was a bigger drinker than Cetus, and more in need of diversion having fallen so low in the esteem of the culture that once revered him. Not so much as to stop him in the street to request his blessing as they might have done to his Platinum grandfather, but enough to have blinded him to many plights he now faced and many more he still hadn’t noticed his colleagues suffering.

Running his finger along the label of an Umbrian red, and using his Rune to delve beyond the bottle for a sense of its Structure, he pursed his lips.

“This one’s gone off.” He informed the shopkeep, before sidestepping the soured wine in favour of a sweeter. “Ah, here we are.” He added the bottle to the stack in his basket and stepped up to the counter to pay.

Stepping out, he quickly scanned the street for any signs of familiar Auras. He liked to make sure there was no one he might be keen to avoid, in which case he might obscure himself from view to avoid confrontation or other forms of awkwardness. His ætheric senses drew him to no such undesirables, though, instead finding…

“Hilana?” He tapped her on the shoulder, smirking as he took note of her present Focus. “Looking for me, were you? Well…” He extended his arms in presentation, his basket of wine hanging at one elbow.

“Seek and ye shall find.”

[Hilana Chenzira]

She heard his voice as he tapped her shoulder, and she stopped, turning around to face him. Tiaz had already turned his head, his tongue flickering out. The python gleamed in the runeforged lights, his tongue flickering as he scented Khyan. While he hadn’t gotten a bit of a scare from him the last time they had met, apparently the beautiful serpent wasn’t holding it against him as he tasted the servus’ scent. And Hilana absolutely beamed to see him, her eyes brightening, a smile on her face. “Khyan, there you are,” she took advantage of his outstretched arms, and wrapped her own around him in a tight hug. She was of course careful of the basket over his elbow, so she was mindful not to jostle that or risk breaking it, but the nomad hugged him tightly and didn’t let go for a few moments, her long arms holding on. Hopefully, he didn’t mind too much, because it was one thing for her to squish him in the privacy of Sweet Remedies, another for her to do so on the streets where someone might see them. She wasn’t hardly concerned for her own reputation; not that she had much of one as it was.

“I missed you,” she told him when she finally let him go, and Tiaz had moved down enough from her head and shoulders to get close to his face and shoulders, his forked tongue flickering and brushing against Khyan’s skin as though he might be preparing to transfer from Hilana back on to him like he had in their previous encounters. “And so did Tiaz. How have you been? I’ve been down here looking for you a few times, but I haven’t had any luck until today,” she found his free hand to squeeze it. “I brought us a snack, if you’ve time for it," she offered. It was admittedly a full-on picnic, but no need to tell him that just yet. But the rucksack she was carrying on her back was definitely packed, though with Founders only knew what.

She knew his time was not his own, and his life was not his own, not yet, at least. And she did have to keep in mind that he likely had other obligations. But she was thrilled to see him again, and the girl wanted to know what all he had been up to. She had heard from the Fae Mage that he was interested in him, so she knew that he was surely at least some level of safe, but now that she could actually lay eyes on him and touch him... she felt a lot better. And the wine in the basket, well... some things did not change.

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan chuckled. He hadn't intended for his demonstrative gesture to end in an embrace, but he didn't begrudge it when it came. Still, after a few moments of its lingering, he chortled:

"All right, all right." And started to back away slightly, "Let's not allow the constabulary to surmise that you're taking 'vantages with another man's property, hm?" He nodded in a Northwesterly direction, "The College of Compliance is just a bit in that direction..." In fact it was tall enough a structure to be visible from where they stood, "I'd hate for our reunion to be cut short by your being carted off there for reintegration." He bit his lip, and chucked Tiaz' scaly chin, once he had space enough to do so and sighed.

"Did you really?" He pursed his lips, "I truly don't know what I ever did to leave such an impression upon you..." He trailed off, and then paused as he considered what he'd just uttered. "Although, I suppose you did find me as a black-out drunk black and white bird and wake to find a naked patrician in your bed who had a dramatic ongoing backstory and pernicious prospects for the future, so..." He shrugged one narrow shoulder, "There's that, I suppose. Me?" He sucked in a bit of air through his teeth, and shook his head.

"Oh, you know. Living this slave life. Daily grind and all that. To be truthful with you, I may have been about and you just didn't notice me. I often put my ætheric energies more toward the goal of casting off attention than inspecting my surroundings." It was odd that a feature of his Craft that he'd rarely touched in his life as an attention seeking patrician, had now become his default.

All at once, a grumpy shopper bumped into him and grumbled an annoyed insult at the 'clumsy slave' before bristling over to the nearest candle stall.

"Well... Why don't we hie somewhere less bustling, whilst we play catch up? My life is rather dull perforce, but what has been going on with you? Tell me how things are faring for you on the sunny side of the city?" He inquired, as he began to lead the way South, back toward the Temple of Midnight's Mother.

[Hilana Chenzira]

When he started to back up, Hilana let him go. She wasn’t out to make him uncomfortable, but when he mentioned the College of Compliance, she let go of his hand and took a step back, her hands going to the straps of her rucksack. Well, that solved that issue of the girl squishing him on sight. She didn’t seem fond of the sound of a visit to that particular place, and her smile certainly faded a bit. “That’s a good point, thank you,” she admitted. She should have known better, considering they were in public, but sometimes she really didn’t think things through. Even after a season and a half…she had to remember sometimes that this wasn’t the Sands. And further, that he wasn’t free to be squashed by an enthusiastic nomad just because the urge came over her to do so.

She smiled a bit, though, when he told her he didn’t know why she was so taken with him. She had told him the last time, but she wasn’t about to remind him of her reasons in public, considering she knew how ridiculous it has sounded at the time…but chances were, he had enough on his mind and enough booze since then to have forgotten it. Plus, they’d been drinking that night too, and Hilana knew from experience that Vasilei’s homebrew mead went down easy and delivered a hell of a kick later once it hit. And she didn’t have to say anything further on it, because he summarized their first encounter quite succinctly. “That, yes,” her eyes were dancing again with amusement at the way he described it.

She tucked some hair behind her ear as Tiaz continued to stretch for the golden-collared young man, nodding as he explained what he’d been doing. That made sense. But she was glad to hear he was staying safe, at least - his health, his well-being was important to her, and if she had to choose between finding him whenever she went down and running the risk he would get into trouble, then it was better that he stayed safe. When the shopper bumped into him, Hilana’s head whipped around to stare at them, and the expression on her face was something Khyan hadn’t seen from the preternaturally cheerful Vastiana yet. That was the epitome of a dead-eye stare, and she drew herself up like she was thinking about opening her mouth to shoot back criticism of her own. But she let out a breath as he suggested they move on, and she nodded, the expression fading. Let it go. There were some fights worth taking, and others that weren’t, and she didn’t know who or what the surly complainant was affiliated with.

“Yes, please. Lead on. This is your turf, not mine,” she smiled at him, apparently back to normal. Or whatever passed for normal for her, at least. “It’s been good, but busy… but I like busy. I’ve made some friends up there, and one of them has actually been interested in the Sands and everything to do with them, so I take him with me often when I leave the city for foraging. I went and caught a pair of aoudads for the Equinox Prayers,” Hilana told him. She figured that surely he knew what those were, the golden horned sheep. “One for Deus Avaerys at the Mount before the Radiant Mass, and then one down here for Domina Varvara,” she looked on in the direction of the Temple where she had heard Her voice. That part, though, she would have to leave for another time, when they weren’t in public. Hilana hadn’t shared it with anyone, or discussed it since that Waning Prayer…and while she trusted Khyan, she didn’t trust their surroundings. One never knew who was watching and who was listening, after all.

“I was asked to come along to check on a village some miles out, too, that lost contact after the Dread Mists of last season. And we came face to face with a wild Cyclops,” she lowered her voice about that, but the memory did excite her, clearly, judging by the small smile on her face. “It was fun, though. A lot of fun.”

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan nodded, a bit surprised by her easy assent, but not terribly. He did remember she'd mentioned having gotten advice about keeping her head down in the big city. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but he'd been of another caste and had an exhibitionist streak a league long. Now that he was a slave, he could see the merit in the recommendation. It was interesting to him that, having fallen below her own station, it was Khyan who had to remind Hilana about discretion. There was even something oddly gratifying in it.

He kept a hand outstretched toward Tiaz, even as he began to walk them South, just in case the snake wished to relocate to his shoulders again. He let out his little gated hiss sound encouragingly. Either way, it kept him walking closer to Hilana.

"My turf..." He sniggered wryly. That he should ever find the Umbrium his base of operations was an odd thing. Sure, if Prince Vrædyn succeeded his imperial grandmother as Sovereign and a Lunar Court chanced to rise in his lifetime, that would have been one thing. But Solar Sovereign Thalya IV Imperatrix had spent weeks shy of a century on her throne, and even at the best of times Khyan hadn't anticipated outliving the purebred battleaxe. It was hard to predict lifespans amongst quarter elves, but whatever boons his Platinum grandfather might have proffered, he could scarcely vie with their centennial queen. He glanced sidelong to Hilana as she spoke of her recent exploits.

"You caught some wh-...? Oh! Aren't those some sort of mutton?" Khyan didn't know much about things that dwelt the desert abroad of the city, unless they were creatures whose totems he coveted or something that had crossed his dinner table at some point. Aoudads fell into the latter camp and so, after a moment's thought, he did recall the term.

He knitted his brow, confused and perhaps a tad disbelieving at the talk of cyclopes.

"Whyever were you asked to check on a village? Were they in need of herbs or summat?" His eyes darted from hers to the street up ahead, where he could make out the edge of their destination. Sprawling out before the ancient templum, was a garden of old statues from remote antiquity predating even the rise of Vastium. Aværys himself was said to have been amongst those who'd mined the caverns that opened up into this ancient city upon which they built their own.

As they drew closer, the glowing fungi that adorned statues whose faces had long since eroded, seemed bright against the dim artificial light cast on them from the street.

[Hilana Chenzira]

The irony wasn’t lost on her. She had been concerned for him and issued that reminder earlier in the season, and now it was his turn to remind her. But he was right and she would rather have that gentle reminder than what could very well have come to pass. He cared enough to warn her, and that meant something. It came from a good place, and the girl appreciated it. Even if she did tend towards being physically affectionate, doing so in public was not a good idea. Not right now.

Tiaz was making his steady transition from Hilana’s shoulders to Khyan’s hand, his tongue flickering and making his own hissing sounds in kind. The python had grown in the half season since he had seen him last, in length and weight, but his scales and condition were faultless. His skin indicated he had shed recently, which only added to the smoothness. She may have pampered the snake like a prince, but he was all relaxed muscle. And he was all too happy to drape himself over Khyan, enjoying his scent and his sounds. It made Hilana smile to see the two of them like that, and that trilling hissing sound he made tickled her. Founders knew why, but she enjoyed hearing it. Probably just her love of all things Reptilian, and her inexplicable fondness for the young man she was with.

“Your turf,” she agreed, crossing her eyes at him. “You’ve been down here for a season now... you’ve got all the pathways and routes figured out, surely?” she smiled at him. Hilana hadn't spent enough time down here to do so, but one day... she would have to do that, too. But for now, the Luxium was safer, more open, and easier for her.

“That’s right,” she nodded when Khyan recognized the term. “The big gold-brown ones with the long hair? People like their hides for rugs and their big curved horns,” Hilana gestured to make the shape of the curvature of the horns from her own head now that Tiaz had settled down on Khyan. “For pretty much everything else. Tools, decorations, hunting horns... They were a good size, too; I found them about maybe two hours’ ride outside the city. Hayima’el and I went and found some on one of the little tributaries... bit like wrangling in the herds again, but we got it done. Easier with two or more, though,” the girl grinned. She elected to leave out the injuries; they had long since healed and without marks.

“Well, with the Dread Mists last season, they lost contact with one of the villages about two days’ ride out down the road,” Hilana explained. “Vectria. I know that territory because it was part of the route I covered with my old pack before I had to go back in to Tertium. They were calling it the Circulus Mali... said that they’d been seeing things like a three-headed wyvern,” she shook her head as they walked. “Some of my new friends are with the Sentinels, and they knew I was familiar with the area... so they asked me to come along. We went out with Hayima’el, and when we got there, the whole village was just mashed up,” she shook her head. “Settled in for the night, next thing you know, practically an earthquake. Giant Cyclopes.”

She was looking at the statues as they walked along, her head tilting and her hands on her bag’s straps to keep them from touching everything else. The glowing fungi got her attention, and Hilana was smiling at it. “I’ll see if I can’t get some of this off later to play with. I don’t want that on my hands before we eat... But I bet you that whoever this statue was... he was a fun guy,” her eyes were dancing as she looked at Khyan, biting her lips and grinning.

Still, once Khyan had decided on a spot, Hilana had a spread for them. The girl had said ‘snack’, but she was very clearly lying as she started to remove the contents of her bag. Between them on the bench, dishes and containers were unstacked, and revealed kofta meatballs with a tahini sauce, a chickpea salad, hummus with pita chips, a spiced rice mixed with cinnamon, parsley, and topped with slivered almonds, lavash bread, some dates stuffed with a cheese mixture, and there was apparently a wrapped loaf of honey cake. She had wooden plates for them, along with napkins, spoons, and bottles of the homemade mead. “New batch. This one is even better than the last one,” she told him. “This one is blackberry, this one is peach.” They could share them, and start with whichever Khyan wanted first.

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan let his arm slowly descend as the python transitioned to his shoulders and, once his weight was mostly there, allowed his arm to fall to his side. Magic aside, the former patrician hadn't conceived of a better way to conceal his collar than the living shawl that now claimed much of the real estate between his chin and shoulders.

"Not quite a season..." Khyan amended with a careful shrug, as he didn't wish to jostle Tiaz overmuch. "I got out of training and moved into the household on the first of Ash. I'm still a Luxian at heart, and I was pleased to find I didn't lose my tan completely. I guess my complexion is more writ in my blood than I realised." He pursed his lips,

"I know the neighbourhoods I need to. I don't get out of the Sanctine District, often." It was where he dwelt, shopped, met with his lover, ventured on occasion to socialise. He wouldn't mention that, though, lest he invite further criticism on the matter. Hilana had made her thoughts known in the past, and he wasn't keen to be dissuaded from one of the few pleasures he still claimed every now and again. Even if it was a risky one.

"I don't know that I've seen one alive, but they used to cross my plate now and again when I ate better, and I think I know the horns you're talking about." He tilted his head toward Tiaz' as the snake lifted his head nigh of Khyan's cheek, smiling against the tickle of a flickering tongue.

The talk of three-headed wyverns and giant cyclopes (which were already giant in his book) drew his attention back to his human companion, and an arched eyebrow suggested disbelief at first. As if he was waiting for a punchline that didn't come.

"Oh. You're serious? That's..." He pursed his lips, "Your life seems to have changed as much as mine in the past couple of seasons. I hope you consider yours for the better, even if you did have to face down a behemoth." He shot her a sharp glance at the pun about fungi that was nearly serpentine, and far less friendly than any look Tiaz cast upon her.

"Perhaps you've not changed so much after all." He noted dryly, shaking his head in exaggerated revulsion. He went from looking at her to looking past her, and his expression softened and he nodded toward an empty marble bench. The bench was a much newer addition to the garden of statues, though still ancient. Benches had been dispersed throughout the area to allow people to sit and reflect upon the works of the ancients. As Aværys had been among those who excavated this part of the Umbrium, religious significance was placed upon the garden.

He took a seat, and blinked at the expansive spread of foodstuffs Hilana unveiled on the bench between them.

"Um... do you always wander the Umbrium with a small feast under your arm?" She'd mentioned a snack in passing. A detail he'd almost forgotten, but this buffet was quite unexpected indeed. Still... the kofta looked quite good. He plucked one up and sniffed it.

"Hm. I've always preferred tzatziki to tahini, but this looks lovely all the same." He brought it to his lips and took a delicate, scrutinising bite, nodding in approval.

[Hilana Chenzira]

Tiaz, for his part, was perfectly content to drape himself on Khyan, and wasn’t at all bothered by shrugs or movements - the python was used to hanging on while she rode a camel, or ran around on foot, or climbed things... he was relaxed and confident in his positioning, and the servus’ collar covered from onlookers with the way he had made himself comfortable. Short of something shocking happening, the smooth-scaled serpent was just going to snuggle his mama’s friend, and enjoy his body heat.

She nodded as Khyan spoke. Fair enough. “I’m glad you haven’t lost your complexion yet, though I keep hoping you’ll be able poke your head above again and come visit. But I know it’s not as simple as that. My aunt sent me something from Tertium that I think you’d like to see. And that sounds about right,” Hilana admitted. “I learned my own areas first... Antiquine and Port Vasta... and now I’m working on mapping my way through the Sorokyne. I’ve been in the Aurecine a few times now to see my friends or drop things off... but down here... not so much. Mostly the Underforum and I’ve been in the Templum,” she nodded at the structure in the distance. “I have gotten to the Noctis Aeternae a few times and enjoyed it, so you were very much right about that place... I think it really outclasses the clubs in Tertium.”

She nodded when he commented on the horns. “There’s a wild herd outside the city. No shepherd, no ear marks, nothing, so fair game for hunting if you can catch them... but catching them is the hard part when they can jump a good seven feet up in one go,” Hilana shook her head. “One of the herds I worked when I was small was aoudads, so I’m used to handling with them... You’d know them to see them, though. I didn’t try to get the herdmasters, those weigh more than twice you and I combined, and even with Hayima’el, I’m not entirely that stupid to try to take those on, not when I wanted two of them.” She scrunched her face up briefly. “That and they were admittedly too far out of reach. They were on the other side of the tributary and if I tried to sneak around I would have scared all of them into running off.”

There was no punchline, it seemed, not that time. “Definitely for the better. It was a strong group...and I had faith in their abilities. I miss the Sands. I get to do a lot of foraging, Vasilei knows me well like that, so I do go into the Expanse... but I miss the longer trips out there, seeing the stars and enjoying the fires and laughing with my pack. When it’s a part of you, when it’s what you’re raised in and what you know... but it’s there and just out of reach because of circumstances.” Hilana had a feeling that that was something Khyan could relate to. She let out a breath and shook her head. “My racing saddle was finished, though. I picked that up yesterday. So with luck... I’m going to get Hayima’el ready for Glade. My father wouldn’t give up my old ones, so I went and commissioned one that would fit my big boy.” And her father, if he found out, was going to be furious.

She was grinning at his expression though at the joke. “The more things change, the more things stay the same,” Hilana chuckled. “No, that won’t ever change. So long as you know me, unless I get hit with a magical lobotomy special, there will be puns. Somewhere, somehow... sneaky ones. But if there comes a time when I don't make them, then you will know I got my brain rearranged.” She only grinned when he asked her if she took to carrying a feast everywhere she went. “Just when I’m looking for you, so every so often,” she laughed, and opened up the peach mead, offering it to him before she took one of the lavash flatbreads and tore it in half before spooning a bit of the rice and chickpeas into it. She added two of the kofta, and folded it in order to turn it into a wrap. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time, though. Cene bene, Khyan.” This was admittedly more than she usually brought down with her, but considering it was a somewhat impromptu party that her friend didn’t know about, it was less than she might have set out on a table. But for a picnic for two... it was just about right.

[Khyan Nykara]

“I’ve been in the upper city a few times, but as a former Luxian seeking to evade the attention of his former peers, it can be more of a chore in the realm above. More people know me up there and many of them are equipped to see through my ætheric feints.” Now satisfied that the kofta was more than palatable, his second bite was a larger one and halved the remaining piece.

His etiquette hadn’t eroded with his station and so he fully chewed and swallowed before responding verbally.

“Friends in the Aurecine now, Hilana?” He arched an eyebrow pointedly. “Our shifting balance seems to make a case for some sort of ethereal equilibrium guiding the wending ways of the world. You’ve supplanted me in society’s esteem.” He offered with a wry chuckle that concluded with his last bite of meatball. He took up one of the bottles and uncorked to sniff at the contents.

“Oh, lovely!” Since the menu hadn’t been announced the presence of the mead was a pleasant surprise indeed, and one of which he promptly availed himself.

“Mm, well I’d not sell the Tertian tavernas short. There are some truly breathtaking spots on the Tertian riviera south of the proper city. There’s truly nothing like beachfront property.” Hilana would know that most of that area was residential, but did boast a few particularly exclusive night spots for the senatorial class and the Re’hyæans.

As Hilana’s focus shifted to matters pastoral, Khyan’s interest in the conversation waned and his interest in the spread of food waxed. He dipped a bit of flatbread into a tub of sauce and tried a few other selections until Hilana finished her enthusiastic little ramble. Her pronounced aversion to social cues, which occasioned to confound him, in this instance struck him as being sort of cute. Whether it was a fluke due to the lengthy span since their last encounter, or a more lasting shift in Khyan’s perspective remained to be seen. But for now he was content to focus on the food and let the prolixity proceed apace in the background.

He drew the discourse back to the foreground when her talk took an earnest turn. He licked his lips in advance of a sip of mead. The allusion to his own circumstances was not overlooked.

“I’m glad you can still grace your desert…” He offered through a forced smile, “It seems you’ve spent a lot of time there of late.” Pursing his lips, he suppressed a smirk.

“So, if I’m keen to rid you of your egregious punning habit, I should explore the possibility of a Mesmer initiation? Mm. Good to know.” Perhaps he’d take Æros up on his offer, after all, Khyan thought cheekily to himself as he gulped down a bit more mead.

“Founders that’s good